(Sept. 1, 2016) A little off the beaten path of downtown Snow Hill on River Street near Sturgis Park lies the new headquarters of the Lower Shore Land Trust, and for its second First Friday in town, the nonprofit will be exhibiting photographs and books by Doug Stephens that feature lower shore images also a bit off the beaten path.
Stephens, a land trust board member and real estate agent, ended up in that world to finance his artistic pursuits.
“I’ve been a Realtor for 29 years, but I only started in real estate because of the need to support my art,” Stephens said. “I’m always trying to keep my art going.”
As he was finishing college in 1983, having already exhausted every photography course the school offered, he said he ran out of things to do.
Having grown up on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, Stephens said he did what most people who run out of things to do find themselves doing: fishing.
“Through friends’ fishing parties, I met a guy who owned a skipjack. I asked his permission to tag along during a race day,” he said.
Skipjacks, the state boat of Maryland, are traditional oyster dredging sailing vessels. A few remain in use on the Chesapeake Bay.
The photos from these excursions led to his first book, ‘Workin’ with the Wind,” published in 2005. Nearly a decade later, he turned his focus to Smith Island, and published “Summer Harvest,” another coffee table book featuring the lives of four watermen.
“Self-publishing is grueling. The book industry is very rigid with what it could do — it took up my weekends and my vacations. Marketing was the interesting part,” he said.
And so, his focus on photography got tied up with what began as a job at his father’s real estate company and became a career.
“I’m less active now but it’s starting to pick up again,” Stephens said. “I’m spending a lot of time on the Nanticoke River, and I’m starting to study that. I always find myself on the water’s edge somehow.”
Most, if not all, merchants in the downtown area will remain open until 8 p.m. this Friday during the celebration, and the regular First Friday festivities outside will continue until that time.
However, at 7:30 p.m. Brown Box Theater will present the Shakespeare play “Cymbeline” for free at Sturgis Park. The town recommends bringing chairs and blankets to the performance.
Stephens, a land trust board member and real estate agent, ended up in that world to finance his artistic pursuits.
“I’ve been a Realtor for 29 years, but I only started in real estate because of the need to support my art,” Stephens said. “I’m always trying to keep my art going.”
As he was finishing college in 1983, having already exhausted every photography course the school offered, he said he ran out of things to do.
Having grown up on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, Stephens said he did what most people who run out of things to do find themselves doing: fishing.
“Through friends’ fishing parties, I met a guy who owned a skipjack. I asked his permission to tag along during a race day,” he said.
Skipjacks, the state boat of Maryland, are traditional oyster dredging sailing vessels. A few remain in use on the Chesapeake Bay.
The photos from these excursions led to his first book, ‘Workin’ with the Wind,” published in 2005. Nearly a decade later, he turned his focus to Smith Island, and published “Summer Harvest,” another coffee table book featuring the lives of four watermen.
“Self-publishing is grueling. The book industry is very rigid with what it could do — it took up my weekends and my vacations. Marketing was the interesting part,” he said.
And so, his focus on photography got tied up with what began as a job at his father’s real estate company and became a career.
“I’m less active now but it’s starting to pick up again,” Stephens said. “I’m spending a lot of time on the Nanticoke River, and I’m starting to study that. I always find myself on the water’s edge somehow.”
Most, if not all, merchants in the downtown area will remain open until 8 p.m. this Friday during the celebration, and the regular First Friday festivities outside will continue until that time.
However, at 7:30 p.m. Brown Box Theater will present the Shakespeare play “Cymbeline” for free at Sturgis Park. The town recommends bringing chairs and blankets to the performance.